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152 comments on DrumBeat: January 15, 2007

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Leanan on January 15, 2007 - 10:37am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Don't forget that while this may be true in the US, in other places, that actually have public transport, it's a whole different story.

Not really. Cities like Boston and New York have excellent public transportation, and finding a place to park is often difficult and expensive. Yet...people still have cars, if they can afford them. It's not easy to do things like grocery shopping or taking the cat to the vet via the T. And if it's raining, you can forget about getting a cab.

Also, what the car gives you in freedom, it takes away from others.

Oh, I know that. My point is that there's good reason for people to love cars. They aren't going to give them up without a fight. And people who don't have cars have good reason to want to acquire them.

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phineas gage on January 15, 2007 - 10:51am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

As a midwesterner, whenever I spend time in Boston or NYC, it always seems so much more beautiful, interesting and cosmopolitan than the drab car-oreinted midwest. I often think I'd be much happier in a more urban environment- came very close to moving to Portland OR. Just can't talk my wife into it. But you're probably right- after a few months the novelty would wear off and I'd miss my car even though I only put about 1000 miles a year on it.

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AlanfromBigEasy on January 15, 2007 - 11:02am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I own a car in an eminently walkable neighborhood. I considered doing without one (feasible but not always convenient) before buying my 1982 Mercedes 240D. Evacuation was the deciding factor in favor of car ownership. I help neighbors without cars out once or twice a month.

The Key is NOT ownership but miles driven

I drive 150 to 180 miles/month and could reduce that to 30 to 75 miles/month. At 31 mpg city, this is sustainable deep into post-Peak Oil. I could drive a Hummer and still be more sustainable than many Prius drivers.

Best Hopes for less driving,

Alan

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toilforoil on January 15, 2007 - 2:49pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The single most important determinant of car use is car ownership.

Seven hundred Americans will die in road crashes this week. Over 52,000 will be injured. Many of these will never walk again.

Children in NA spend 95% of their time enclosed. The car is their mobile jail cell.

Quite the social experiment.

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LevinK on January 15, 2007 - 11:47am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

It's not easy to do things like grocery shopping or taking the cat to the vet via the T. And if it's raining, you can forget about getting a cab.

In Europe and Asia they have a fairly good answer to that too. It's called "mixed-mode" transportation. For routine trips, that don't require taking luggage (e.g. commuting) people generally take mass transit or simply walking. For all the rest - most people still have cars. They just don't drive then like here to everywhere.

As an european, the lack of any alternative to cars in US is simply killing me... consider for example how much it costs to recover if/when your car breaks down (and you can not afford 2 cars). Towing, rent-a-car, repairs... it can get you in the thousands. In my home city you would still have to repair your car eventually, but nothing will be pressing you and in the meantime you can be perfectly ok with a 5 euro weekly mass transit card (in Western Europe it is more pricy but no more than 20-30 euro AFAIK). An additional effect of this mode is that since the car is not that essential, servicing it is not such a financial burden - as happens to be with maintainance and repairs in the US.

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fleam on January 16, 2007 - 12:49am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Monthly transit pass prices I know of are San Francisco area: about $125 a month, I think allows bus, and light rail, maybe BART which is passenger train.

Honolulu: $45 a month, ride DaBus all you want.

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westexas on January 15, 2007 - 11:52am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Consider a place like Venice. They have road and rail connections to the main island, and water transport between the islands, but as far the day to day necessities, you carry the stuff and/or use a small wheeled carrier.

We had dinner one night at a fabulous restaurant, Al Covo (specializing in fresh, local food), which took me a couple of days to track down. The restaurant is owned by a Italian/American couple (he's from Italy; she's from the US). She heard me talking and came over and asked where I was from (Surprise: West Texas). She gave me a big hug and said she was from Lubbock Texas. (It turned out that I probably knew her brother, we probably played high school tennis at the same time.)

In any case, she said that she raised three kids in Venice. When we asked her how she did it, she showed us her biceps--lots of muscles, hauling kids and "stuff" around Venice for 20 years.

After she left to take care of other customers, I told a UK couple we were having dinner with that you cannot imagine two more radically different places than Lubbock, Texas and Venice, Italy.

In about three weeks in Italy, the only cars we were in were taxis on a handful of occasions. Otherwise, it was foot, bus or train. (That is the premise of the Untours program. They set it up so that you live as Europeans live.) But you can see how the Europeans only use about half as much energy per capita as Americans. We also ate like pigs and lost weight. It's amazing what walking miles per day does to your waistline (and what not walking miles per day does to your waistline).

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